Cursed Forest 2

"There's no need to slack now. After all, this was what I've been waiting for. A fight that would push me past my limits!"

Sliding through its opened legs, Kael swung his scythe, leaving a deep dash at the side of its leg. Rising from the ground, he leapt high, but the image of an object heading towards him at blinding speed appeared before his view.

"Shit!" He could only prepare himself for the worst as the fist slammed into him.

BANNG!

"UGHH," Kael groaned with blood dripping from the sides of his mouth. A sickening crack echoed across the area as his body travelled across like a broken kite, crashing through a couple of trees before coming to a stop.

"F*ck me sideways!" Kael groaned, struggling to rise from the ground.

[-40hp]

Just that attack had taken a large amount from his health points. His body was already beginning to heal as he prepared himself. From afar, various trees were getting destroyed as a monstrous beast with a shining crystalline jade body bulldozed his way towards his position.

Clenching his fist tightly, he began gathering his gravity aura around his fist. Manipulating the gravity around him, he slowly floated forward and then swung his other hand backwards. His body shot forward at breakneck speed with his eyes fixed on his target.

"Utilising the repel skill this way did work." He muttered, watching the beast increase its speed on sighting its prey–him. "Die!" Kael roared loudly as he clenched his fist tightly and swung forward.

The beast, seeing him charging forward, swung its large fist right at him.

BOOOM!

A strong gust of winds rocked the area as trees and rocks alike here blown away just from the force of the attack. Even the large trees were unable to withstand the pressure flying along with their kin.

ROOOAR!

A loud, painful roar filled the forest with the large figure of a beast staggering around destroying more trees around the area.

Kael, hovering just behind the beast head let out a sly smile as he struck once more. The beast, just recovering from the attack, felt a deep pain once more at the base of its neck.

CRAAACK!

The second attack finally broke through the crystalline body, causing blood to spill from the opening. Teleporting above the beast head, he clenched his fists tightly as dark flames erupted.

The beast staring upwards was just in time to see a flaming figure coming right at its face. As if sensing the threat of the approaching figure, it tried raising both hands to stop his descent.

'I need more speed,' he thought. Tensing the muscles in his legs tightly, he waited for the right moment.

The beast's hands streaked through the air, heading right at his falling body.

"Now!" Releasing the muscles in his legs, a force erupted from behind, propelling him forward. His form streaked right at the centre of the beast brows.

BAMM!

Kael pushed forward with his might. His hands began to melt through the crystalline skin with his fingers passing through. The beast wasn't idle during the process as it thrashed around, struggling to quell the unbearable pain invading all its senses.

ROOOOAR!

PAIN! The pain was unbearable. The beast never imagined an attack from a human would break through his crystalline skin. Despair! It felt despair as its life force began to wane.

Kael, with his fingers now within the head of the beast, released a concentrated spark of flame that engulfed the beast head from the inside. Flames erupted from its eyes, mouth, nose, and ears as it collapsed to the ground with a lifeless thud.

Ding!

[You've defeated a Rank C beast]

[+3000 exp]

A dark shadow spread below the dead beast, and slowly, Kael watched the beast get swallowed by the shadow. Landing on the ground, he let out a soft groan. "My legs were destroyed by the force I released back then," he muttered, staring at his mangled legs. "I guess I used more than my body could handle."

His already weak body was screaming in pain after the clash. He felt his consciousness waning, but he knew he needed to stay awake or else drift into a deep slumber, which he didn't know when he would wake up. In a surrounding as dangerous as this, even closing his eyes for a second could spell his end.

One thing Kael noticed was the stark difference in strength between the abyssal beasts and beasts of this realm. "If it was an abyssal beast, the battle won't definitely end this way." Kael thought lying on the ground as his damaged legs slowly began to heal along with the other parts of his injured body.

Once again, exhausted, he decided to rest for a few hours before beginning his journey. After a few more hours, he finally arrived before a large wall, stretching toward the heavens. He could sense an eerie aura emitting just from the wall. Even the terrifying beasts within the region never came close to the wall as if scared of getting wiped from existence.

Kael slowly observed the wall, his eyes searching for an opening.

[So, you really wanna do this?]

"I've come this far now, I can't just walk away." Kael muttered, his gaze finally landing on a large dark gate. Walking forward, he observed the gate from afar before spotting a little opening just enough to fit an adult human through. Although it appeared as if it had borne the impact of a number of battles, it still appeared mighty.

Kael stared at the hole with a mix of complex feelings. Now, standing close, he could sense a strange yet familiar aura from within. Staring through the hole, he was welcomed by stark darkness, unable to see through.

"I have no choice then." He could feel his body yearning to venture forward, but his cautiousness was the only thing holding him back. "Why am I contemplating now?" Releasing a deep breath, he slowly crawled through the hole appearing at the other side of the gate.

What welcomed him was a vast plain filled with dark bladed grass just above his ankle. Far ahead was a grand hollow castle that was wrapped around in thick dark chains with intricate linings of white running through the centre of the chains. The darkness was terrifyingly thick, yet he could easily see through the darkness.

'This also happened back at the abyss,' Kael thought as he began walking forward. Trying to teleport forward, he felt a strange force restricting his ability, causing him to blink just a hundred metres forward.

"What's this now?" He thought with a frown. Appearing back to his previous spot, he looked back at the large gate.

"Huh? Wasn't this the place I was before?" Teleporting forward once more, he stared back and could see the mighty gate still standing tall. Teleporting back to his first spot once again, the gate was nowhere to be seen.

"Damn! What's happening?!" Kael thought, his heart beating fast. "How do I leave now?" Left with no choice, he decided to continue forward.

— — —

Deep within the chained castle, a dark malevolent presence stirred with its thought vibrating across the building. "He's... here!"